Swing



Dec. 5, 1961 c. HANNAS 3,011,825

SWING Filed April 28, 1959 INVENTOR CARL L.HANNAS BY MVEW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,011,825 SWING Cari L. Hannas, St. Paul, Alberta, Canada Filed Apr. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 809,447 4 Claims. (Cl. 297245) The present invention relates to an amusement swing.

Known amusement swings normally are constructed having a supporting structure with two sides connected at their tops and by a horizontal pivot. The swing portion is suspended from this pivot and swings in the space between the two sides. Relative motion of the portions of the swing is obtained by deforming the structure of the swinging portion or by exerting forces between the support and swing by persons riding the swing. These swings are normally provided with seats which face one another across the centre of the swing. With these swings the danger has always existed of a rider being caught between movable and fixed portions of the swing and as the swing moves back and forth certain portions of the swing approach the ground. A small child may be caught between these portions of the swing and crushed. These swings generally therefore have not been completely safe to use, especially where small children may be injured.

I have found a novel construction of swing in which no parts are deformed from their normal shape and the distance between the principal portions of the swing and the ground remains constant. Relative motion of the swing is obtained by varying the centre of gravity of the swing and its occupants. There is thus no danger of a child being caught underneath the swing or between movable portions. Accordingly, I provide a swing comprising an upright supporting structure carrying a horizontal pivot, a circular ring connected to the horizontal pivot by a plurality of radial supports, a pair of seats fixed inside the ring on opposite sides of the pivot, a foot rest mounted on the ring and between the seats, a pair of handles attached to the pivot and the radial supports, and a safety block mounted in front of each seat.

With this structure it will be appreciated that the circular ring which rotates about the pivot is not deformed and the only point in the structure about which rotation occurs is the horizontal pivot. The ring being completely circular remains a constant distance from the ground in all positions of the swing.

The swing is operated by the occupants of the seats leaning forward and backward to alter the effective centre gravity of the swing.

In the drawing which illustrates an embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of FIG- URE 1, and

FIGURE 3 is a view on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 of the supporting structure for the horizontal pivot.

As shown in the figures, the swing consists of a supporting structure having horizontal legs 11, and a pair of upright legs 12 which are joined at their upper ends 13, a cross support 9 is conneced between the legs 12 and 'ice forms the legs 12 into an A frame. From the apex 13 of the A frame a horizontal cylindrical shaft 14 projects. The shaft 14 acts as a pivot on which a hollow cylindrical member 15 is mounted. Radial arms 16 are suspended from member 15, and are connected to the ring 17, there by supporting the ring 17 for rotation about the horizontal shaft 14. A strengthening member 8 is connected between apex 13 and support member 14 to help prevent member 14 from bending under the weight of the swing and its occupants. The ring 17 is provided with a fiat rim 18. I

A pair of seats 19 are provided on opposite sides of the ring 17. Each seat comprises a back rest 20 and a horizontal seat 21. Situated in front of the back rests 20 and above each seat 21 is a block 22 which is connected to the radial arms 16 and to the supporting struc ture in the seats. This wooden block is provided as a support to prevent a rider from falling from this swing when the swing is inverted during operation.

A pair of ring-shaped hand grips 23 are provided which are connected between the radial arms 16 and the bearing 15. A pair of foot rests 24 are provided for the riders to place their feet. I

The swing is normally operated by a person seated on each seat member 19 and the two occupants cause the swing to rotate about the bearing 15 by cooperatively leaning forward and backward and thus varying the position of the centre of gravity of the swing plus the two riders.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A swing comprising an upright supporting structure, a horizontal pivot supported by the supporting structure, a circular member supported by the horizontal pivot and adapted to rotate about the pivot, a pair of seats attached to the inside of the circular member, the seats in rest position of the swing being on opposite sides of a ver-' tical line passing through the pivot, a horizontal mem ber fixedly mounted in front of each seat and adapted to bear against the thighs of a person seated on the seat, and a cylindrical rim attached to the periphery of the circular member.

2. A swing according to claim 1 having a handle positioned in front of each seat and fixed to the circular member.

3. A swing according to claim 1 having a foot rest mounted between the seats.

4. A swing according to claim 2 and having a foot rest mounted between the seats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 172,565 Grodhaus Jan. 25, 1876 1,181,469 Martin May 2, 1916 2,201,993 Dyke May 28, 1940 2,592,177 Otis Apr. 8, 1952 2,738,831 Sage Mar. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 796,189 Great Britain June 4, 1958 

